Cambridgeshire patients waiting over 12 hours to be seen in A&E

The majority of the 12-hour waits were at North West Anglia NHS Trust

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Hundreds of patients faced waits of over 12 hours in Cambridgeshire’s A&Es last month. A total of 1,479 attendees at A&E departments across our county had to wait over 12 hours from a decision to admit to admission in February.

That’s actually down from a record of 1,785 in January, but is still the highest number for any month of February. It is still far higher than the numbers seen before the Covid-19 pandemic. In February 2020 just seven attendances at A&E faced a wait of over 12 hours in Cambridgeshire.

The majority of the 12-hour waits (921 of them) were at North West Anglia NHS Trust, while 558 were at Cambridgeshire University Hospital Trust. Cambridgeshire is far from being the only part of the country afflicted with such long waits in A&E.

A total of 54,649 patients spent over 12 hours in A&Es in England last month from a decision to admit to being admitted. That’s the highest number on record for the month of February, up from 47,623 in 2025 and 44,417 in 2024. The number is, however, down compared to January when a record 71,517 people were stuck in A&E for over 12 hours. Last month’s total is the third highest number on record.

You can see how your local trust is performing by using our interactive. Simply enter your postcode and select one of the NHS trusts from the dropdown.

The number of patients seen within four hours at Cambridgeshire A&Es has seen some improvements however. More than half (56.9 percent) of attendances at our county’s Type 1 A&Es waited less than four hours from arrival to admission, transfer or discharge.

That’s up from 54.7 percent in February 2025 and 48.5 percent in February 2024. It is, however, below the national average of 59.4 percent.

Waiting lists

The waiting list at Cambridgeshire’s trusts is falling. There were 146,543 on the county’s waiting lists in January. That’s down slightly from 148,972 in December and a peak of 154,150 in August 2023.

The waiting list was generally split between North West Anglia NHS Foundation Trust (78,406) and Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust (62,482), with another 5,335 at Royal Papworth Hospital NHS Foundation Trust And 320 at Cambridgeshire And Peterborough NHS Foundation Trust.

Nationally, the NHS waiting list has fallen to its lowest level since January 2023. A total of 7.25 million were on the NHS waiting list in England in January. That’s down from 7.43 million a year earlier and a peak of 7.77 million in September 2023.

The waiting list is now at its lowest level since February 2023 when it stood at 7.22 million. The number of people waiting over a year for treatment is at its lowest level since the Covid-19 pandemic. A total of 135,657 had been on the waiting list for over a year as of January.

That’s down from 198,868 in January 2025 and is less than half the number of January 2024 (321,394) and a peak of 436,127 in March 2021.

You can see how your local trust is performing by using our interactive. Simply enter your postcode and select one of the NHS trusts from the dropdown.

Health and Social Care Secretary Wes Streeting said: “After years of rising waiting times, patients are finally starting to see things move in the right direction – with waiting lists at their lowest level for almost 3 years and more people getting treated within 18 weeks.

“Despite record demand this winter, A&E and ambulance services improved – meaning patients are getting help faster when they need it most, thanks to the hard work of NHS staff, better planning and modernisation.

“But we won’t take our foot off the gas. We’ll keep cutting waiting times, backing NHS staff and making sure patients get the high-quality care they deserve.”

NHS National Medical Director Professor Meghana Pandit said: “The NHS was ready to tackle winter head on this year, which is why despite facing record-breaking demand, staff have delivered the shortest winter waiting times for 4 years – while waiting lists have continued to fall.

“This is proof that the NHS is starting to turn a corner for patients – but we know the job is far from done.

“For too long, too many patients have faced the indignity of being treated in hospital corridors. That’s why we’re taking a zero-tolerance approach – with hospital leaders out on the wards and corridors making sure patients are treated with the dignity they deserve.

“I also want to thank the public for their role in supporting the NHS this winter – these figures show the huge impact of the public getting vital winter jabs.”